Waves Rise Again

"Hmm! That was indeed troublesome. The path of cultivation may strive for progress, but it still needed tension and relaxation in equal measure. I'll go take a look later. Those two sisters were far too eager for revenge!" Zhou Qing thought to himself. He could now wield the Blood-Devouring Divine Saber; formidable as the Tianxuan Blood Demon was, he still could not withstand a single strike from the divine saber.

Zhou Qing's strength had soared, but he was not conceited, much less did he imagine himself invincible beneath heaven. Tianxuan Blood Demon had created a Monster Alliance, yet China's Daoist Sect had simply ignored it. Zhou Qing knew things could not be so simple. Although Tianxuan Blood Demon could be considered an expert, he had not reached a level that would make China's Daoist Sect wary. Could there be some formidable figure behind him? Zhou Qing formed an estimate in his heart.

The four great disciples of Shu Mountain had ambushed Zhou Qing at the Monster Alliance and nearly made him capsize in a gutter, which had enraged him beyond measure. He had initially wanted to storm Shu Mountain in a fit of fury, but after giving it some thought, he calmed down. Shu Mountain had stood for nearly a thousand years. Though it was far less ancient than Kunlun, ever since Ancestor Changmei founded the sect and forged the Purple and Azure Twin Swords, talented people had emerged beneath him generation after generation, and masters had appeared in endless succession. Slaying the Myriad Year Blood Demon, exterminating the Green Robed Ancestor—which of those had not been an earthshaking event? Later, Shu Mountain had even called upon Daoist Sect across the land to hold the Emei Sword Competition three times. At the height of its glory, its limelight had actually overshadowed Kunlun's for a time. A thousand years of accumulated foundations made Zhou Qing dare not act rashly.

Especially now, Daoist Sect throughout the land had ties as intricate as tangled threads with the state. Those four disciples had even claimed to be members of the Dragon Group, the national security department. Zhou Qing reckoned that even if his methods reached the heavens, he could not fight an entire nation alone, much less all of China's Daoist Sect. He could only swallow that foul breath in secret. But Zhou Qing was not one to accept a loss. Reason was reason, but as for fearing anyone, such a word had never appeared in Zhou Qing's dictionary. Even toward that Old Heaven hidden in the unseen, Zhou Qing felt mostly contempt, let alone fear.

Zhou Qing did not have the slightest favorable impression of disciples from those renowned orthodox sects; he could even be said to despise them. Even the Dragon Group had come to seem little different from those corrupt institutions in his eyes. On the contrary, Zhou Qing had always held a faint trace of goodwill toward demons. Strictly speaking, neither of his two disciples, nor Little Fox, was human.

"Xiao Jin, how much money do we have left?" Zhou Qing asked. After hauling back a huge sum from the United States, he had left it in Liao Xiaojin's care while he focused on cultivation. On a sudden whim, he asked about it now.

"Between gambling, stealing, and robbing in Las Vegas, we got one billion. We got another three hundred million from those little devils, thirteen hundred million altogether. We should have a little over twelve hundred and fifty million left now!" Liao Xiaojin was never muddleheaded when it came to accounts.

"We spent more than fifty million in less than a year?" Zhou Qing was greatly startled. The exchange rate between the yuan and the dollar was no longer as high as before, but fifty million dollars was still worth over a hundred million yuan. Spending over a hundred million in just nine months was a little hard to stomach even for Zhou Qing, who was now rolling in money. Over a hundred million—enough to crush a person to death.

"Master! Why don't you do the math yourself? Those several banners you made cost more than tens of millions alone. And how much jade did we buy here and there? The owners of those jade markets were practically calling you Daddy. Yet I never saw you make anything with it," Liao Xiaojin muttered quietly.

"Bullshit! I didn't make anything? Have you cultivated all the way into a dog's belly? The spiritual qi in this villa is who knows how many times denser than outside. If I hadn't buried nearly a ton of jade underground, would you be cultivating this quickly? Would you have evolved into a viscount so fast?" Zhou Qing gave him a blistering scolding right off the bat.

"I'm going to see how Zhou Chen is doing. Stay put, and later we'll go out and have some fun! Cultivating all day long is unbearable. We have to find some amusement, don't we?" With that, Zhou Qing flung those words at Liao Xiaojin and vanished.

Within the spacious training room, a small figure flashed about at an inconceivable speed, stirring up gust after gust of fierce wind. Hiss! A claw wind tore across the wall, leaving five long claw marks half an inch deep in the reinforced concrete. The figure drew to a halt, and Little Fox stood in the center, drenched in sweat. A crystalline drop of sweat on the tip of her nose was about to fall to the floor. Zhou Chen hurried over and lovingly wiped the sweat from Little Fox's face with a towel.

"Little sister, you've trained the martial arts and body techniques of our fox clan to their limit. It's time to begin learning spells. Only the two of us remain of the Charm Fox Clan. We must avenge ourselves and personally kill that Tianxuan Blood Demon. But our cultivation is still far too weak. We simply cannot deal with that demon yet." Zhou Chen stroked Little Fox's head and sighed.

"Big sister, I can already wield the magic treasure your master gave me with ease, and your cultivation has improved greatly too. With your master's Dao arts being so powerful, we can definitely kill that Blood Demon!" Little Fox did not understand Zhou Chen's sigh.

"Master has already helped us enough. How could we have the nerve to trouble him again? Besides, the grudge of our Charm Fox Clan must be avenged by our own hands. Little sister, you must remember that!" Zhou Chen held Little Fox tightly.

Zhou Qing had condensed his thoughts into a Second Primordial Spirit. His spiritual sense was so powerful that few in the world could compare, and his five senses were even sharper. He had long since heard the two sisters' conversation. He thought to himself, This disciple isn't stupid, and she cultivates quickly. She just loves clinging to dead principles. So long as revenge can be taken, why care about so much? If she insists on avenging herself personally, who knows when that day will come? Feeling the Geng Metal Qi unconsciously radiating from Zhou Chen's body, Zhou Qing knew that her Soaring Sword Qi Art had reached the realm of minor accomplishment.

With a flash, Zhou Qing arrived in the training room. Zhou Chen and Little Fox sensed him at once and instinctively took fighting stances. When they saw it was Zhou Qing, Zhou Chen hurriedly said, "Master, why is it you? Weren't you going into seclusion for three months? Why did you come out so soon?"

"I came out of seclusion early. Xiao Jin told me that you've both been cultivating like mad. On the path of cultivation, peace of mind is essential. Whether human, demon, or devil, higher realms all involve using oneself to command the energies of heaven, earth, and the cosmos. If you keep this up, you may very well suffer qi deviation. I know you are anxious to take revenge, but Tianxuan Blood Demon is far from simple. There seems to be some force behind him. Since you are a disciple of my Heavenly Dao Sect, I cannot simply fold my arms and stand by. I know you want to take revenge with your own hands. When the time comes, I will give you that opportunity." Zhou Qing had always disliked dragging things out and could not be bothered with endless chatter. Without allowing Zhou Chen to say more, he settled the matter. Zhou Qing had decided to lend this disciple of his a hand.

After Zhou Qing left, Little Fox's eyes sparkled as she said, "Big sister, your master is so decisive when he does things, so full of character. He isn't handsome, but he's incredibly strong. I'm starting to like him!" Zhou Chen was greatly shocked when she heard this. "How old are you? How do you already know about such things? Who taught you this?"

"Hmph! By age, I'm already over thirty. Don't think I know nothing, as if we were still in the mountains! Don't forget, I went to school for several years too!" Little Fox said unconcernedly.

Although the spring sun was dazzling, it was not hot. It lazily shone down, making people feel wonderfully comfortable. The streets had grown more crowded as well. After a winter of cold, seeing the warm sun, how could people still have the heart to stay at home? Shopping malls large and small were brimming with festivity and packed with customers. Adults with children and couples in pairs entered empty-handed, only to emerge carrying large bags of goods.

Looking at Little Fox walking along while holding cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken, Liao Xiaojin said, "Say, Little Fox, do you really like chicken that much? You eat it every day, and now you won't even spare foreign chickens?"

Little Fox rolled her eyes at Liao Xiaojin. "You're so annoying! My name is Zhou Can, not Little Fox. Please don't call me that next time." Though Zhou Can was angry, she did not dare lash out in the middle of the street. Of the four walking together, Zhou Chen was pure and beautiful, Liao Xiaojin handsome and carefree, and Zhou Can innocent and adorable. Zhou Qing looked rather ordinary, but that did not stop the surrounding crowd from giving all four of them a hundred-percent head-turning rate.

"Master, although we demons have entered the human world, we never appear in prosperous places. I haven't seen scenes this lively very often." Walking down the pedestrian street reserved for shopping, Zhou Chen looked at the men and women filling the street with delight.

"We humans can cultivate anywhere. Entering the ten thousand zhang of red dust tempers the heart; entering deep mountains and old forests tempers the body. Your cultivation may be advancing quickly, but the path of sword cultivation is ultimately a human cultivation method, unlike the techniques of your Demon Race. So you must still follow human steps. Letting you experience human life will benefit your cultivation." Zhou Qing himself was a novice at cultivation, but he still understood the grand principles.

"So that was how it was! But human life really is countless times richer than the life of our Demon Race. No wonder so many demons would rather risk being hunted down by human Daoist cultivators than give up living in cities alongside humans." Zhou Chen could not help sighing.

Suddenly, Liao Xiaojin shouted, "Master, how did all those people just disappear at once?" Zhou Chen immediately noticed it as well. The street that had just been surging with people was now completely empty. Not even a single hair of a person could be found. Only the four of them remained, standing alone in the middle of the road. It was utterly eerie.